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Another in my series about change. I wanted to show a creature frozen in the act of transformation. In a state that it was changing from human to bird to plant, all being one for a moment in time. I want to show the interconnections between each and question what will happen, what will this creature become. At the same time, I was thinking of what humans will become, so disconnected from nature. I questioned how connected to nature I am and how reliant I am on technology and society. I like all the comforts of my civilized life but have sometimes let myself get too wrapped up things that ultimately have no meaning. But I am hoping that I can make changes for the better.

I am building a body of work about change. Change is universal, can be good, bad, and challenging to adapt to. Over the past few years, change has been a constant for me. I have instigated it to be a better person. I have also been thrown some unexpected changes, both good and bad over the last few months.

Other Than Real is a group exhibition in the Neil Britton Gallery at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach, VA. The exhibition runs from November 9th 2017 to January 5th 2018.

From John Rudel, Curator:

“Other Than Real” will present the work of seven artists for whom object making informs a heightened awareness of the world. The works in this exhibition are presented for consideration as artifacts of thought, and have been brought together to inform a particular realization and resulting question. Imagination and insight can be crystalized by the creative process of artists and take the form of real objects. Therefore, how is imagination different than reality, and should we consider the world of ideas embodied in art objects other than real?

I had four pieces in this show: From Ashes, Fly by Night, Shiny Things, and False Memory.

Bleeding Heart came to me in a dream the night after visiting the Virginia Zoo. I had taken my mom there for her birthday, and felt the usual mix of excitement at seeing animals, and depression at seeing them in cages. One of the saddest animals on my visit was the Luzon Bleeding-Heart, or Bleeding Heart Dove. It is so sad to see something that can fly stuck in a tiny cage, seemingly without another bird to “do time” with. Luzon are unique because they look like they have been shot in the chest, thus the bleeding heart name. They mate for life and the males defend their mate and territory aggressively. But the bird I saw just looked sad and lonely.

As I was working on Shiny Things I thought all the tiny things I had saved throughout the years. All kinds of broken jewelry, thrift store items, things I found on the ground some of which has been with me since I was a teenager. Like a Magpie, I am always looking for things to use in my work. The mirror in this piece is something I bought 15 years ago, now finally finding a place for it.

The mirror is meaningful in this piece. Mirrors are shiny things. A Magpie can recognize him/herself in a mirror, signifying that they are intelligent creatures. I am pretty sure my cat, Loki, can recognize himself, but sometimes behaves in ways that make me question his intelligence, and I use the mirror as a question in this piece. Do we recognize ourselves and our underlying motivations and drives truthfully.

I have a relative that likes to acquire things for the sake of acquiring them. Obviously a hoarder, this person is constantly ordering things online that he cannot use, because he is physically unable due to multiple physical and medical conditions. He says he hopes to someday use these things, though I question if he could find them should the possible day of usage come. Despite the friction it causes with his wife, he spends at least $5,000 each month on stuff. This stuff either ends up in piles around the lazy boy chair he spends most of his time in, or packed into his otherwise stuffed garage. Somehow he believes that getting all this stuff will fill the hole inside him and a future awaits where he will be able to use the thousands of screws, pounds of wood, tons of bullets, or power tools. Or read that stack of 20 books beside him. Or watch the other 25 educational DVD on his other side. Or look through the stack of papers regarding last years taxes collaging his surroundings. The acquisition is a rush, and he claims the stuff makes him feel comfortable and safe.

Magpies also like to aquire shiny things to line their nests with, similar to the way my relative makes his own nest of things around his chair. Both nests give a sense of comfort and safety, though one is only a illusion. Unlike the relative’s nest, the Magpies nest has a useful purpose and will be home for new life. My relative nest contributes to his falls, and seems more like a slow smothering until his eventual demise.

Here is the start to my Magpie. She is made from a wire armature, with branches, then covered with black Apoxie Sculpt.